I've been trying out this mindfulness reading now for I think about six months or more and I've gotten so much out of it. I go outside with my coffee, read, and watch (listen) to the birds in my assorted feeders. Just the practice of going outside in the morning for maybe 15-20 mins a day has made a daily difference in a myriad of subliminal ways.
I see I am a tiny bit quieter sometimes, and sometimes more patient. But the biggest change I see is that I crave/ need this quiet start. If I am traveling, or anything is going on and I can't start my day this way I miss it. I definitely can feel the absence of this ritual.
I've read a few somewhat reflective, mediative and self help books. Many of them have affected how I see things and helped me view aspects of my life with a whole different lens.
My newest morning read is Manifest, by Roxie Nafousi. This one is more about self realization. It promises to help you create the life you want. I don't know about that yet-I just started it, but I am visualizing what I want. In addition, I am trying to embrace the positive and concrete advice about how to navigate your thought process.
Today's passage was about replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. The average brain has 60% thoughts, and a whopping 80% are negative.
I THINK I can handle this. . . .,
There's a line from the movie Pretty Woman —eye rolls acceptable; I get it—when the wayward main female character is finally connecting with the cold but successful male. In the scene he tells he that she is more than all the negative views she holds of herself as he enumerates the positives he sees in her. And she responds, "I know, but the negative stuff is so much easier to believe." That moment stays with me because it captures a profound truth...too many of us are pessimists at heart, arguing that it's really pragmatism. Maintaining positive thoughts, staring the morning with a ritual of quiet? Maybe one-by-one it could change things.
ReplyDeleteI did not realize the percentage of negative thoughts. Mindfulness has been at the forefront of my mind this summer. It has been helpful for me at night prior to going to bed.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your way of starting the day, the book and reminding us of the importance of switching negative thoughts to positive ones.
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